▲ Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon speaks during a meeting on support measures for the Middle East crisis-hit sectors in Seoul on April 17, 2026. (Yonhap)

financial firms-shippers

Financial firms vow support for shippers hit by Middle East war

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- The chief of the country's financial regulator said Thursday that local insurers and other financial firms will provide full support to small and mid-sized shipping companies hit by the war between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.

In a meeting with executives from leading shipper HMM and other shipping companies, Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said local insurers are ready to provide war risk insurance to 10 Korean vessels that had been stranded inside the Strait of Hormuz since late February due to the tension.

"Local insurers will provide low and reasonable insurance rates to those shippers that have been denied war risk insurance and are currently shouldering high rates compared to large-sized shipping companies," Lee said.

The FSC chief also said the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO)-led fund for ship purchase-financing will extend its support for smaller shippers, and a loan-to-value ratio for eco-friendly ship purchases will be lowered by 10 percentage points to 80 percent.

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